Punjab: Man held for spying for Pakistan during Operation Sindoor

Chandigarh: A man hailing from Punjab's Tarn Taran district was arrested for allegedly sharing with Pakistani intelligence operatives sensitive information about troop deployment and strategic locations during Operation Sindoor, police said on Tuesday.

He was also allegedly in contact with Pakistan-based pro-Khalistan leader Gopal Singh Chawla.

Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said the accused has been identified as Gagandeep Singh alias Gagan, a resident of Mohalla Rodupur, Gali Nazar Singh Wali, in Tarn Taran.

He was arrested for allegedly sharing sensitive information related to the army's movements during Operation Sindoor with Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs).

Police also recovered a mobile phone containing information, which he shared with the PIOs.

The accused was allegedly in contact with Pakistan's intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and also received money for passing on sensitive information, the police said.

He was arrested in a joint operation of the Tarn Taran police and the Counter Intelligence wing of police.

"Arrested accused had been in contact with the #Pakistan #ISI and (Pakistan based Khalistani supporter) Gopal Singh Chawla, sharing sensitive information concerning army movements during #OperationSindoor," the DGP said in a post on X.

Investigations said the accused was engaged in sharing classified details, including troop deployments and strategic locations, posing a threat to national security.

Gagandeep had been in touch with Khalistani supporter Chawla for the past five years, through whom he was introduced to the PIOs, Yadav said.

"He also received payments from #PIOs via #Indianchannels," he further said.

Recovered a mobile phone containing intelligence that he shared with the PIOs, as well as the details of over 20 ISI contacts, he said.

Thorough financial and technical investigations are underway to trace other linkages and establish the full scope of this espionage network, the DGP added.

An FIR has been registered under the Official Secrets Act at Police Station City, Tarn Taran, and further investigation is in progress, he added.

Under Operation Sindoor, the Indian armed forces carried out pre-dawn missile strikes on May 7 on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base in Muridke, in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.

Earlier, police had arrested six persons for allegedly spying for Pakistan.

Falaksher Masih, and Suraj Masih had been arrested from Ajnala in Amritsar and 31-year-old woman Guzala and Yameen Mohamad, both residents of Malerkotla, had also been nabbed last month.

Guzala and Yameen had been receiving payments through online transactions in exchange for sharing classified information. Guzala had been in contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, a Pakistani official posted at the Pakistan High Commission. On May 13, India expelled Danish for allegedly indulging in espionage.

Two more persons -- Sukhpreet Singh and Karanbir Singh -- were later arrested by police from Gurdaspur for sharing sensitive military information with Pakistan's ISI.